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Wolfenstein's Wide World

Wolfenstein will diverge from its tightly-constrainted roots. Here's how it should work.

I felt like a patsy when I asked Peter Sokal, id's Community Manager, when Wolfenstein was coming out. It was the Activision publicist's cue to motion to him, Bob Barker-style, and order-up the utterance: "When it's done." I pictured a word bubble coming out of his mouth, with a trademark symbol punctuating the phrase. I set myself for the PR flourish, hook, line, sinker. Only at Game Developers Conference.

Wolfenstein debuted big at last year's QuakeCon. Word back then was that it would deviate from its roots, particularly in one significant way: it wouldn't be a straight "corridor" shooter. After seeing it at GDC, I'm starting to get the picture: maybe it's not as expansive and freeform as a Far Cry 2, but probably designed around more wiggle-room than, say, a Half Life 2. It's got multiple factions, upgradeable weapons, and periodically-unlocked supernatural powers. In short, many of the things we'd associate with a game built around progression. In order for this progression to be meaningful, however, a few things need to happen:

1: The Faction Feeling

Sokal talked at length about the three factions pushing their weight around Wolfenstein's world. First up is the Kreisau Circle. In actual history, they were a group of German aristocrats who opposed the Nazi regime. In Wolfenstein, they're a way more heavily armed version of that. From what I gather, you'll be doing most missions for them. Then there's the Golden Dawn. The real Golden Dawn, well, you've probably seen the Tarot cards bearing their name at mall booksellers. In Wolfenstein, they wield actual magic, and from what I gather are at the forefront of the effort in counteracting Nazi mysticism. Finally, there's the "Black Market." I'm not 100 percent sure if this faction will give you missions and all that, but they're the ones you drop money on to upgrade your weapons.

In any case, there's enough of a mix here to vary up the tone of the scenarios you'll be offered, and even, dare I say it, provide for some truly divergent experiences. It would be a shame if the variety were squandered.

2: Freshen Up the Veil

"The Veil" is Wolfenstein's name for the spirit world you inhabit to solve puzzles. Think Soul Reaver, A Link the Past, and countless other games that force you into a "realm." From what I saw, the Veil is the place you slip into if you want to bypass certain obstacles, which is more or less what you'd expect from this kind of trope. Let's hope there's more to it in Wolfenstein. Here's an idea: a boss fight where you have to hop in and out of the Veil throughout the course of the encounter, in order to avoid attacks, access weak spots, and stuff like that. A little ingenuity in this sort of encounter could go a long toward refreshing a stale concept.

3. More Than Mumbo-Jumbo

All these dalliances with "the other side" will have a definite effect on protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz --namely, they'll cause him to develop crazy magic powers. The one revealed so far is "Mire," which is another word for "bullet time." Basically, the worst scenario would be if Wolfenstein's Veil powers amounted to little more than FPS gimmicks wrapped in mystic mummery. A gravity gun effect is a gravity gun effect, regardless of whether you call it a Force Push or a "Heavenly Heave." I propose some slightly left-of-center FPS gimmicks to mix it up a little, something like "Hermes' Chariot," a summonable spirit vehicle that you can run over guys with.

And that's all I got. Wolfenstein will be out when it's done. Which, according to EBGames' website, is late July.